The present disclosure relates to paper-based receptacles for edible foodstuffs and, more particularly, to paper-based trays, dishes and containers for the cooking of edible foodstuffs.
Metal cookware devices, including trays, dishes and forms, are frequently employed in baking and related cooking applications where rapid cooking performance is desired. Metal cookware is generally well suited for the baking of breaded and bread-based foodstuffs, such as pizza products, where one typically seeks to produce a baked or fully cooked product having a crisp and browned crust. Metal cookware may also be particularly well suited for restaurant environments where operators frequently seek to prepare made-to-order items in a rapid manner and require cookware having excellent heat transfer characteristics.
While metal cookware may have many positive attributes, it may also have substantial maintenance and storage requirements. For example, metal cookware must be washed and dried after each use. Depending on the type of foodstuff being cooked, portions or components of the foodstuff may adhere to the metallic surface or may caramelize or otherwise polymerize to produce substances that cannot be removed by conventional washing and scrubbing, i.e., become “baked on.” Non-stick metal cookware may be selected to mitigate the problems associated with metal cookware. However non-stick coatings add expense and generally require more careful handling and washing to preserve their non-stick characteristics. Metal cookware must also be racked or otherwise stored when not in use. Although such cookware is frequently designed to nest for storage, over time it may accumulate dents, deformations, and other non-destructive insults which prevent the individual pieces from nesting properly, magnifying the space required for storage.
In restaurant environments, metal cookware may also contribute to certain operational risks or inefficiencies. For example, if a product is prepared and served in metal cookware, the cookware may burn a customer as the product is subdivided at the customer's table. If the product is instead transferred to an alternate container, such as a serving dish or sealable carry-out container, such risks may be reduced, but at the cost of increased labor and increased time to delivery of the order. The storage and staging of alternate containers may also increase the amount of space that must be dedicated to equipment and supplies in a restaurant operation.
It would be desirable to have an inexpensive, paper-based cooking container that may provide cooking performance and heat transfer characteristics approaching those of metal cookware, while reducing the aforementioned maintenance and storage requirements. It would additionally be desirable to have a paper-based cooking container having both enhanced heat transfer characteristics and conventional heat transfer characteristics, such that a single container may be used both as cookware and as a serving container, or optionally a portion of a closeable carry-out container, without requiring the transfer of a foodstuff from one container into another. It would also be desirable to have a paper-based cooking container that is suitable for the baking of breaded and bread-based foodstuffs such as pizza products, and that provides food release characteristics similar to those found in non-stick metal cookware.